Patrick van der Duin

The evolution of innovation management towards contextual innovation

Purpose – In recent decades, innovation management has changed. This article provides an overview of the changes that have taken place, focusing on innovation management in large companies, with the aim of explaining that innovation management has evolved toward a contextual approach, which it will explain and illustrate using two cases.Design/methodology/approach – The basic approach in this article is to juxtapose a review of existing literature regarding trends in innovation management and research and development (R&D) management generations, and empirical data about actual approaches to innovation.Findings – The idea that there is a single mainstream innovation approach does not match with the (successful) approaches companies have adopted. What is required is a contextual approach. However, research with regard to such an approach is fragmented. Decisions to adapt the innovation management approach to the newness of an innovation or the type of organization respectively have thus far been investigat...

Keeping the balance: exploring the link of futures research with innovation and strategy processes

Futures research can support decisions concerning innovation and strategy issues. To encourage companies to use the results of futures studies, the futures researcher has to be aware of how those companies (clients) have organised their innovation and strategy processes. It is our position that futures researchers should balance the way they conduct futures research with the way innovation and strategy processes are organised and carried out. For example, in an organisation with a hierarchical way of building a strategy, a ‘democratic’ and interactive approach to futures research will probably not be appreciated. This makes it interesting and worthwhile to find out what futures research and innovation and strategy have in common, and on which points they relate. This will help futures researchers improve their work and make sure that their work has an impact on decisions concerning innovation and strategy.Futures research can support decisions concerning innovation and strategy issues. To encourage companies to use the results of futures studies, the futures researcher has to be aware of how those companies (clients) have organised their innovation and strategy processes. It is our position that futures researchers should balance the way they conduct futures research with the way innovation and strategy processes are organised and carried out. For example, in an organisation with a hierarchical way of building a strategy, a ‘democratic’ and interactive approach to futures research will probably not be appreciated. This makes it interesting and worthwhile to find out what futures research and innovation and strategy have in common, and on which points they relate. This will help futures researchers improve their work and make sure that their work has an impact on decisions concerning innovation and strategy.

The Cyclic Innovation Model: A New Challenge for a Regional Approach to Innovation Systems?

Abstract Innovation processes have changed significantly in the last four decades. Organizations no longer innovate on their own, aware that they need to decentralize their innovation activities and have to cooperate closely with other organizations in innovation systems. In this paper we discuss the spatial consequences of these developments, introducing the Cyclic Innovation Model (CIM) as a framework to analyse system innovation and applying it to the case of Thixomoulding, i.e. the development and exploitation of a revolutionary new material in the region of Flevoland, a province of the Netherlands.

Users as innovators: exploring the limitations of user-driven innovation

Considering users as innovators has gained considerable support over the past 30 years. Eric von Hippel’s work in this area forms a significant part of the theoretical underpinning and evidence behind this concept. Many further studies have been undertaken to support it. It has contributed to our understanding of innovation management in general and new product development in particular. Even so, Lüthje and Herstatt emphasise that empirical findings are scarce and that the most radical innovations of the last 35 years were not developed by users. Thus, in this paper we critically review the lead-user theory and focus on three specific areas of weakness of the lead-user concept (conceptual, methodological, empirical), and argue that improvement in these areas would considerably strengthen its standing. We conclude that although lead users can contribute to the innovation process, this contribution should not be overstated, and that insufficient attention has been paid to the limitations of this theory.

The future revisited: an application of lessons learned from past futures – the socio‐cultural domain and innovation policy in The Netherlands

Purpose – This paper seeks to evaluate future studies in order to improve futures research.Design/methodology/approach – Case studies were researched.Findings – The current study of the future carried out by the Dutch Innovation Platform (responsible for innovation policy) resembles an old‐fashioned utopism whereas a study conducted in 1977 by the Dutch Council for Government Policy yields very interesting results.Research limitations/implications – Only two case studies have been researched.Practical implications – Lessons learned or the evaluation of former studies of the future can be very interesting and supportive but one must be aware that they are not golden rules for doing futures research in the future itself.Originality/value – Although futures researchers often look back at other studies of the future it remains an important activity in improving futures research.

Against history: the role of history in current Dutch society

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how Dutch society is dealing with its history and why the past is a bad guide to the future.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is a desk research based on newspaper articles and other literature.Findings – The paper finds that Dutch society is strongly influenced by its history but past solutions for current societal problems that are based on historical analogies are wrong and even dangerous.Research limitations/implications – This paper is focused only on Dutch society. It would be interesting to see whether the Dutch situation is also applicable to other Western European countries.Practical implications – To make the Dutch society more future‐oriented there are four recommendations: make “the future” a subject in schools; extend the Dutch government mandates to eight years; force managers and politicians to measure their investments, plans and ideas against future developments; and the foundation of a future museum and a canon for the future.Ori...

Innovating for the future? An external assessment of the future‐oriented governance of the Dutch innovation system

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the future‐orientation of the Dutch innovation system and formulate recommendations to improve it.Design/methodology/approach – The approach takes the form of in‐depth interviews with Dutch experts who are sufficiently independent to formulate relevant, interesting, and deviating opinions.Findings – Dutch managers are quite reluctant to look at the future. They seem to favor the short term above the long term.Research limitations/implications – Consulting additional experts might yield more and more validated results.Practical implications – Dutch companies should do more about turning a future vision into concrete decisions and actions.Social implications – It is necessary to appoint a specific Minister for Innovation and the Dutch government should support the entire innovation process and not just the beginning.Originality/value – This is the first analysis of the future‐orientation of the Dutch innovation system.

On the use of studies of the future for organizational change in Dutch government ministries

Purpose – An uncertain future means that Dutch government ministries need to think about not only what new policies have to be developed, but also how to organize themselves in the future. This paper aims to present an overview and analysis of various studies of the futures by and about Dutch ministries that show that these studies vary considerably, in terms of their process and cause, that the context in which they come about plays a major role and that the various ministries tend to take the same trends into account (for instance ‘‘life-long-learning’’, sustainable development and the emergence of the demanding citizen). Design/methodology/approach – The paper case studies: 11 different reports from nine different Dutch ministries. In each ministry an in-depth interview with one or two representatives was held. The transcripts were summarized, structured, and analyzed. Findings – The use of studies of the future for organizational change in Dutch ministries is very diverse. More and more images and other ways of visualizing the future are becoming important. Dutch ministries should find a good balance between hiring external expertise and using inside knowledge and expertise. Research limitations/implications – Because this is a case study it is questionable whether the findings are also valid for non-researched ministries, especially since the research ministries and (their) studies of the future are very diverse. Practical implications – More discussion is needed about these futures studies in the Government-wide Strategic Council. Government-wide studies of the future should be made to provide ministries with a common background in building up a future vision for (more balanced) policy making. There should be more involvement of external experts and stakeholders in the process of futures studies.

The difficult future

Purpose – This paper aims to describe three major difficulties with dealing with the future.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is an essay with limited use of literature.Findings – Looking to the future is difficult due to cognitive, social, business problems.Research limitations/implications – No empirical research was conducted.Practical implications – Suggests that more practical training in futures research and testing ideas and plans against future trends is required.Originality/value – The paper provides a broad view on difficulties of dealing with the future.

Exploring A Design-Driven Approach As Way To Enable Networked Innovation: Synthesis And Future Research

In this special issue, the question is raised on how a design-driven approach can support organizations in their attempt to organize and realize networked innovation. From the question, two opposite perspectives can be distilled. On the one hand, it can be argued that the design-driven approach is a means for realizing networked innovation. Companies that work together to innovate encounter all kinds of problems that are primarily related to di®erences in innovation style, business culture, strategy, and types of knowledge and skills. The design-driven approach can then be used to tackle these problems and make networked innovation easier. The other perspective does not view the design-driven approach as a solution, but instead examines the problems that arise when a company wants to apply the design-driven approach when it engages in networked innovation. Apparently, companies know how to apply the design-driven approach internally, but not how to do so together with other companies. International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management Vol. 11, No. 1 (2014) 1440007 (10 pages) #.c World Scienti c Publishing Company DOI: 10.1142/S0219877014400070